Can Green Cleaning Products Prevent and Control HAIs?

We’ve written several times on Pioneering Ideas about the impact of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) on lives and hospitals as well as the costly drain HAIs have on the health care system. Simply increasing the use of cleaning and disinfecting products to tackle HAIs can create a host of other health hazards for both health care facility workers and patients – not to mention significant harm to the environment.

This conundrum has led to the development of wide range of green cleaning methods, but at this point there remains a need for more evidence of about the extent to which these programs meet infection control and prevention goals. In a recent white paper, Health Care Without Harm(HCWH), in collaboration with the Global Health and Safety Initiative(GHSI), explores whether there are cleaning strategies for the health care sector could effectively prevent and control infection in a way that would be both healthier and friendlier to the environment.

The paper, which was produced with support from Pioneer, does not present any final answers, but it does lay out some out compelling recommendations for “closing the knowledge gap.” Please take a look and let us know your thoughts.

This commentary originally appeared on the RWJF Pioneering Ideas blog.